Content Area(s): Earth and Space Sciences Topic: Meteoroids and Comets Short description: On June 30, 1908 a large explosion occurred near the Tunguska River in Russia. It may have been caused by a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere.
Claim: An explosion in Russia in 1908 might have been caused by a meteor burning up in the atmosphere.
Keywords: comet impact, meteoroid impact Difficulty of Concept: Hard
MS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe
MS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
MS-PS3 Energy
MS-PS3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy
RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Vocabulary Words: artillery, concentric ring, antimatter, seismic station
Topic of Game Introduction Video: Counterarguments and Rebuttals Description/Application of Game Introduction Video:
This brief movie is used to introduce the concept of rebuttals before playing the scenario about a 1908 explosion in Russia in the Reason Racer game. A rebuttal is generally thought to be a statement that a claim is wrong. It is a component of scientific argumentation and usually involves an explanation using evidence and reasoning to explain why you believe a claim is wrong. It requires students to carefully consider all evidence given in support of a claim when making a decision to reject the claim. Before they play the game, students could have a discussion about evaluating the quality of reasoning based on the following information:
strong authority - evidence uses persons or places of good authority for the argument
weak authority - the persons or places used in the evidence were of little known or unknown authority for the argument
strong application of theory - using a theory accepted by the scientific community in the argument to support the claim
weak application of theory - if a theory was used in the argument, it did not support the claim, or it is not accepted by the scientific community as a thoery
strong logic - logical reasoning (analogy, correlation, cause-effect or generalization) was used to support the claim
weak logic - the presence of logical reasoning (analogy, correlation, cause-effect or generalization) was absent or does not support the claim
A large explosion occurred on the morning of June 30, 1908 in a remote location in Russia. The blast was estimated to be about 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II. Eye witness accounts included seeing a bright blue fireball moving across the horizon, intense heat, people being blown over by the blast, and a bright flash followed by sound similar to artillery fire. The explosion was recorded at seismic stations throughout Eurasia with readings equivalent to a 5.0 earthquake in some locations. The night skies were unusually brilliant in Asia and Europe over the next few days.
The site was not investigated until several years later. The explosion knocked over an estimated 80 million trees covering 830 square mile. A concentric ring of dead trees was found with trunks pointing toward the center of the blast. The trees near the center were still standing but were stripped of all branches. No fragments have ever been discovered and a definite crater has not been found. Scientists, however, identified a lake in the Tunguska region as a possible impact crater from the event.
It is generally believed that a large explosion occurred 4 to 6 miles above ground most likely caused by a small comet or a meteoroid. Because the event occurred over a remote area, only one death was reported. It is estimated that similar events occur about once every 300 years. If such an event occurred over a populated area it would be catastrophic.
Numerous other theories have been proposed for the event including a small "black hole" passing through the earth, an alien spacecraft exploding in air, a nuclear explosion, a "ray gun" experiment by Nikola Tesla, antimatter falling from space, and natural gas released from the earth's crust. Numerous smaller explosions have been observed more recently by military satellites.
"The Tunguska Event: Was Tesla Involved?" Viewzone Magazine: A Look at Life and Human Culture from Different Angles. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.viewzone.com/tesla.tunguska.html>
Title: 1908 Russian Explosion
Content Area(s): Earth and Space SciencesTopic: Meteoroids and Comets
Short description: On June 30, 1908 a large explosion occurred near the Tunguska River in Russia. It may have been caused by a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere.
Claim: An explosion in Russia in 1908 might have been caused by a meteor burning up in the atmosphere.
Keywords: comet impact, meteoroid impact
Difficulty of Concept: Hard
Reading Level (Pit Stop 8 Article):
Flesch Reading Ease: 45.7Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 11.4
Lexile: 1200
Next Generation Science Standards:
MS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the UniverseMS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
MS-PS3 Energy
MS-PS3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Vocabulary Words: artillery, concentric ring, antimatter, seismic station
Topic of Game Introduction Video: Counterarguments and Rebuttals
Description/Application of Game Introduction Video:
This brief movie is used to introduce the concept of rebuttals before playing the scenario about a 1908 explosion in Russia in the Reason Racer game. A rebuttal is generally thought to be a statement that a claim is wrong. It is a component of scientific argumentation and usually involves an explanation using evidence and reasoning to explain why you believe a claim is wrong. It requires students to carefully consider all evidence given in support of a claim when making a decision to reject the claim. Before they play the game, students could have a discussion about evaluating the quality of reasoning based on the following information:
- strong authority - evidence uses persons or places of good authority for the argument
- weak authority - the persons or places used in the evidence were of little known or unknown authority for the argument
- strong application of theory - using a theory accepted by the scientific community in the argument to support the claim
- weak application of theory - if a theory was used in the argument, it did not support the claim, or it is not accepted by the scientific community as a thoery
- strong logic - logical reasoning (analogy, correlation, cause-effect or generalization) was used to support the claim
- weak logic - the presence of logical reasoning (analogy, correlation, cause-effect or generalization) was absent or does not support the claim
Link to Game Introduction Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIB3vZKQa2YFull Text of Article:
A large explosion occurred on the morning of June 30, 1908 in a remote location in Russia. The blast was estimated to be about 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II. Eye witness accounts included seeing a bright blue fireball moving across the horizon, intense heat, people being blown over by the blast, and a bright flash followed by sound similar to artillery fire. The explosion was recorded at seismic stations throughout Eurasia with readings equivalent to a 5.0 earthquake in some locations. The night skies were unusually brilliant in Asia and Europe over the next few days.The site was not investigated until several years later. The explosion knocked over an estimated 80 million trees covering 830 square mile. A concentric ring of dead trees was found with trunks pointing toward the center of the blast. The trees near the center were still standing but were stripped of all branches. No fragments have ever been discovered and a definite crater has not been found. Scientists, however, identified a lake in the Tunguska region as a possible impact crater from the event.
It is generally believed that a large explosion occurred 4 to 6 miles above ground most likely caused by a small comet or a meteoroid. Because the event occurred over a remote area, only one death was reported. It is estimated that similar events occur about once every 300 years. If such an event occurred over a populated area it would be catastrophic.
Numerous other theories have been proposed for the event including a small "black hole" passing through the earth, an alien spacecraft exploding in air, a nuclear explosion, a "ray gun" experiment by Nikola Tesla, antimatter falling from space, and natural gas released from the earth's crust. Numerous smaller explosions have been observed more recently by military satellites.
References/Sources:
Additional Content:
Author: Cindy Wilbur